Arrhenius constants for the reactions of ozone with ethylene and acetylene

The kinetics of ozonation of C₂H₄ and C₂H₂ have been studied in the gas phase from ?40 to ?95°C (C₂H₄) and +10 to ?30°C (C₂H₂). The O₃ concentrations were near 10^?4 M, and the hydrocarbons were present in 2- to 25-fold excess. A few experiments with propylene were also carried out. The reactions were followed by observing the rate of decay of O₃ absorption at 2537 Å. Reaction stoichiometries and effects of added O₂ were investigated. The second-order rate constant for C₂H₄ was log k(M^?1 sec^?1) = (6.3 ± 0.2) – (4.7 ± 0.2)/θ (θ = 2.3RT). The rate was independent of the presence of excess O₂. Rate measurements for C₃H₆ were less accurate because of aerosol interference. Combined with room temperature measurements of other workers, the C₃H₆ rate constant was log k(M^?1 sec^?1) = (6.0 ± 0.4) – (3.2 ± 0.6)/θ. The C₂H₂ rate constant was log k(M^?1 sec^?1) = (9.5 ± 0.4) – (10.8 ± 0.4)/θ. In the case of C₃H₆ the major product was propylene ozonide. Ethylene did not yield the ozonide, and the products of the O₃–C₂H₄ and O₃–C₂H₂ reactions were not identified. Pre-exponential factors for the olefin reactions are consistent with a five-membered ring transition state formed by 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition of O₃. For C₂H₂, however, the much higher observed A factor suggests a different mechanism. Possible transition states for the O₃–C₂H₂ reaction are discussed.     

Calculation of carbon-carbon bond deformation curves for fluorinated ethylenes and the corresponding carbocations

Carbon-carbon bond deformation curves for fluorinated ethylene molecules and the corresponding carbocations were calculated by the ab initio self-consistent field method in the 5-31G basis set. The maximum force required for bond cleavage was taken as a criterion for bond strength. It has been found that for ethylene, replacement of hydrogen by fluorine insignificantly strengthens the C=C bonds in symmetric molecules. However, in molecules with an asymmetric arrangement of fluorine atoms, the bond is slightly weakened due to different charges on the carbon atoms. The configuration of the corresponding carbocations also depends on the bond polarity: an assymmetric distribution of electron density in the C=C bond region leads to the formation of σ-complexes, while a symmetric distribution of electron density (pure covalent bonding) gives π-complexes. Since the carbon-carbon bond in the σ-complexes is essentially weaker, one should expect significant weakening of the bond in high-acidity media if the bond exhibits any kind of asymmetry (chain branching, defects, etc.). For the considered molecules, an antibatic correlation has been established between the strength criterion F_max (unlike the dissociation energy) and the bond length. Institute of Physical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 34–41, January–February, 1995. Translated by I. Izvekova     

Ultracold collisions and reactions of vibrationally excited OH radicals with oxygen atoms

We report a quantum dynamics study of O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) collisions on its ground electronic state, employing two different potential energy surfaces: the DIMKP surface by Kendrick and Pack, and the XXZLG surface by Xu et al. A time-independent quantum mechanical method based on hyperspherical coordinates has been adopted for the dynamics calculations. Energy-dependent probabilities and rate coefficients are computed for the elastic, inelastic, and reactive channels over the collision energy range E(coll) = 10(-10)-0.35 eV, for J = 0 total angular momentum. Initial state-selected reaction rate coefficients are also calculated from the J = 0 reaction probabilities by applying a J-shifting approximation, for temperatures in the range T = 10(-6)-700 K. Our results show that the dynamics of the collisional process and its outcome are strongly influenced by long-range forces, and chemical reactivity is found to be sensitive to the choice of the potential energy surface. For O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) collisions at low temperatures, vibrational relaxation of OH competes with reactive scattering. Since long-range interactions can facilitate vibrational relaxation processes, we find that the DIMKP potential (which explicitly includes van der Waals dispersion terms) favours vibrational relaxation over chemical reaction at low temperatures. On the DIMKP potential in the ultracold regime, the reaction rate coefficient for O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) is found to be a factor of thirteen lower than that for O + OH (v = 0, j = 0). This significantly high reactivity of OH (v = 0, j = 0), compared to that of OH (v = 1, j = 0), is attributed to enhancement caused by the presence of a HO(2) quasibound state (scattering resonance) with energy near the O + OH (v = 0, j = 0) dissociation threshold. In contrast, the XXZLG potential does not contain explicit van der Waals terms, being just an extrapolation by a nearly constant function at large O-OH distances. Therefore, long-range potential couplings are absent in calculations using the XXZLG surface, which does not induce vibrational relaxation as efficiently as the DIMKP potential. The XXZLG potential leads to a slightly higher reactivity (a factor of 1.4 higher) for O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) compared to that for O + OH (v = 0, j = 0) at ultracold temperatures. Overall, both potential surfaces yield comparable values of reaction rate coefficients at low temperatures for the O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) reaction.     

Alkenoxy radicals in gas-phase reactions of alkenes with oxygen atoms or ozone

Observations in the O₃ + trans-2-butene reaction system and in the O + trans-2-butene + O₂ reaction system suggest the intermediacy of alkenoxy radicals. A mechanism is proposed for the production of C_n and C_m (m <n) alkenoxy radicals by the reaction of C_nH_2n alkenes with oxygen atoms or with ozone.     

Photolysis of azomethane–propane mixtures. Arrhenius parameters for the hydrogen abstraction reactions of methyl with azomethane and with propane

Mixtures of up to 14% azomethane in propane have been photolyzed using mainly 366 nm radiation in the ranges of 323–453 K and 25–200 torr. Detailed measurements were made of the yields of nitrogen, methane, and ethane. Other products observed were isobutane, n-butane, ethene, and propene. A detailed mechanism is proposed and shown to account for the observed variation of product yields with experimental conditions. The quantum yield of the molecular process is found to be given by the temperature-independent equation The values of rate constants obtained are where the reactions are and it is assumed that the rate constant for the reaction is given by      

Predicted rate constants for the exothermic reactions of ground state oxygen atoms and CH radicals

A potential function has been derived for the ground-state surface of HCO which reproduces the spectroscopic properties of the equilibrium molecule and the results of ab-initio calculations at other stationary points on the surface. The potential has been used for a classical trajectory study of the vibrational excitation of CO on collision with fast H atoms and for a study of the reaction of ground-state oxygen atoms and CH radicals.     

Numerical investigation of the uncertainty of Arrhenius parameters

The temperature dependence of rate coefficient k is usually described by the Arrhenius expression ln k = ln A − (E/R)T ⁻¹. Chemical kinetics databases contain the recommended values of Arrhenius parameters A and E, the uncertainty parameter f (T) of the rate coefficient and temperature range of validity of this information. Taking ln k as a random variable with known normal distribution at two temperatures, the corresponding uncertainty of ln k at other temperatures was calculated. An algorithm is provided for the generation of the histogram of the transformed Arrhenius parameters ln A and E/R, which is in accordance with their 2D normal probability density function (pdf). The upper and the lower edges of the 1D normal distribution of ln k correspond to the two opposite edge regions of the 2D pdf of the transformed Arrhenius parameters. Changing the temperature, these edge regions move around the 2D cone. The rate parameters and uncertainty data belonging to reactions H + H₂O₂ = HO₂ + H₂ and O + HO₂ = OH + O₂ were used as examples.     

Study of the reactions of oxygen atoms with carbonothioicdichloride,carbonothioicdifluoride, and tetrafluoro-1,3-dithietane

The reactions of ground-state oxygen atoms with carbonothioicdichloride, carbonothioicdifluoride, and tetrafluoro-1,3-dithietane have been studied in a crossed molecular jet reactor in order to determine the initial reaction products and in a fast-flow reactor in order to determine their overall rate constants at temperatures between 250 and 500 K. These rate constants are??(O + C₂CS) =(3.09 ± 0.54) × 10^?11 exp(+115 ± 106 cal/mol/RT),??(O + F₂CS) = (1.22 ± 0.19) × 10^?11 exp(-747 ± 95 cal/mol/RT), and??(O + F₄C₂S₂) = (2.36 ± 0.52) × 10^?11 exp(-1700 ± 128 cal/mol/RT) cm³/molec˙sec. The detected reaction products and their rate constants indicate that the primary reaction mechanism is the electrophilic addition of the oxygen atom to the sulfur atom contained in the reactant molecule to form an energy-rich adduct which then decomposes by C-S bond cleavage.     

Rate constants and Arrhenius parameters for the reactions of Cl atoms with the halogenated ethers: CF3CH2OCHF2, CF3CHClOCHF2, and CF3CH2OCClF2

Rate constants have been determined for the reactions of Cl atoms with the halogenated ethers CF₃CH₂OCHF₂, CF₃CHClOCHF₂, and CF₃CH₂OCClF₂ using a relative‐rate technique. Chlorine atoms were generated by continuous photolysis of Cl₂ in a mixture containing the ether and CD₄. Changes in the concentrations of these two species were measured via changes in their infrared absorption spectra observed with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Relative‐rate constants were converted to absolute values using the previously measured rate constants for the reaction, Cl + CD₄ → DCl + CD₃. Experiments were carried out at 295, 323, and 363 K, yielding the following Arrhenius expressions for the rate constants within this range of temperature:Cl + CF₃CH₂OCHF₂: k = (5.1₅ ± 0.7) × 10⁻¹² exp(−1830 ± 410 K/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ Cl + CF₃CHClOCHF₂: k = (1.6 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹¹ exp(−2450 ± 250 K/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ Cl + CF₃CH₂OCClF₂: k = (9.6 ± 0.4) × 10⁻¹² exp(−2390 ± 190 K/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ The results are compared with those obtained previously for the reactions of Cl atoms with other halogenated methyl ethyl ethers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 33: 165–172, 2001